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Aiken County lost another driver Thursday night when two SUVs met at Wagener Road and State Park Road. Kenneth Newton, 46, sat behind the wheel of a 2021 Toyota Highlander. The other vehicle was a 2019 Kia Sorento. The time was about 9:30 p.m.

Newton left the Highlander during the impact. He had not put on his seat belt. First responders found him outside the wreck. The coroner declared him dead at the scene at 10:34 p.m. An autopsy will take place in Newberry.

Highway patrol troopers handled the call. They work now with the Aiken County Coroner’s Office to piece together the sequence. Early reports give the vehicles and the location but little else on speed or right of way.

People talk about seat belts after crashes like this one. The simple strap keeps a body inside the car when metal folds. Newton’s case shows what happens when that strap stays unused. Local roads claim lives every month for the same reason.

The community around Aiken knows these stories too well. One more name joins the list. Family and friends of Newton now deal with the empty space he left. They hold the everyday memories that never make the news.

Investigators keep the file open. They want answers on how the Highlander and the Sorento came together. Until those answers arrive the facts stay basic. Two vehicles. One man gone. A dark intersection on a Thursday night.

Newton’s death lands as another reminder on South Carolina highways. Drivers still choose whether to buckle in. That choice decided the outcome for him.

Kenneth Newton was 46 years old when his life ended Thursday night in Aiken County. He drove a Toyota Highlander that crashed into a Kia Sorento at the corner of Wagener Road and State Park Road. The wreck happened around 9:30 p.m. Troopers from the South Carolina Highway Patrol got the call and found him outside the vehicle.

Newton was not wearing a seat belt. The force of the crash threw him out of the Highlander. He died right there at the scene. The coroner pronounced him dead at 10:34 p.m. An autopsy is set for Newberry.

The other vehicle was a 2019 Kia Sorento. Details on that driver stay limited for now. Investigators from the highway patrol and the Aiken County Coroner’s Office are still looking into what caused the two SUVs to collide.

Folks who knew Kenneth remember more than the crash. He had a full life with family and friends who shared ordinary days with him. Those moments matter now that he is gone. Sudden losses like this hit hard because no one sees them coming.

Road safety comes up a lot after nights like this. A seat belt might have kept him inside the car. South Carolina sees too many of these cases every year. The numbers keep climbing when people skip the simple step of buckling up.

The investigation continues. No word yet on charges or exact fault. Officials say they will share more once the work is done. For now the focus stays on the man who did not make it home.

Kenneth leaves behind people who cared about him. They face the tough job of sorting through the sudden quiet. His name will stick with this stretch of road for a long time.

A Canton woman died after her SUV left the highway and tore through the median late Thursday. Sara Abel, 38, was behind the wheel of a 2018 Chevrolet Acadia on U.S. Route 62 near milepost 24 when the vehicle went off the westbound lanes around 7:50 p.m.

It struck a ditch, then a culvert, and finally an overhead traffic signpost. The force of those hits caused severe injuries that proved fatal. Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers responded and confirmed the scene details.

Canton Fire Department paramedics transported Abel to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital. She fought the injuries for a short time but passed away that same evening. Her death became public the next day as the investigation moved forward.

Troopers said early signs point to alcohol or drugs as possible factors. They stressed the case remains open. No final call has been made on what caused the Acadia to leave the pavement.

Stark County deputies joined the Highway Patrol at the site. Canton Fire handled the medical side and Canton Towing removed the damaged vehicle once the scene was clear.

Abel lived in Canton her whole adult life up to that night. The crash left no other victims. Investigators are still gathering what they can from the grass, the ditch, and the wrecked signpost.

Work continues on the exact chain of events. Until the lab results and full reconstruction come in, the reason Abel’s vehicle left Route 62 stays listed as under investigation.

Sara Abel lost her life Thursday night on a stretch of road most locals know well. The 38-year-old from Canton was driving west on U.S. Route 62 around 7:50 p.m. near milepost 24 when her 2018 Chevrolet Acadia veered off the pavement and into the grassy median.

The SUV hit a ditch first. Then it slammed into a culvert and an overhead traffic signpost. Troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the impact left Abel with life-threatening injuries right away.

Canton Fire Department crews got to the scene fast and rushed her to Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital. Doctors worked on her, but she did not make it. She died later that evening from the injuries she took in the crash.

By Friday morning, October 16, word of her death was out as investigators kept looking into what happened. The Highway Patrol noted that alcohol or drugs might have played a role. They have not locked that down yet. The full cause for why the vehicle left the road stays under review.

No one else was in the car. It was a single-vehicle wreck from start to finish. Stark County Sheriff’s Office helped on scene along with Canton Fire and a local towing crew that cleared the wreckage.

Abel was 38 years old. She lived in Canton. Friends and family now face the sudden hole her death leaves. The probe continues as troopers sort through the evidence from the median and the roadway.

This marks another fatal crash on Ohio roads this year. Officials will keep digging until they pin down the sequence that put Abel’s Acadia into that ditch and signpost.

Maurice Graves, 30, sits in custody on a first-degree murder charge linked to Dionna “Dee” Causey’s death in Peoria. Detectives named him a suspect after digging into the case. That led the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office to issue the arrest warrant.

Thursday, October 15, 2026, Peoria police detectives worked with the U.S. Marshals Service. They tracked Graves down at a residence in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Officers took him into custody smooth and easy. Peoria detectives questioned him right after, then locked him up.

Plenty of details stay under wraps. Police have not shared how Graves connected to Dee or what set off the shooting. Investigators keep working the case.

The arrest does not change the hard truth for Dee’s five children. They lost their mom and face tough days ahead. Nothing brings her back or fills the empty space she left.

Dee’s family sees this as one move toward accountability. They hope the courts dig out the real story. Graves is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

People who knew Dee talk about the mother she was to those five kids. The loss cut deep and stays with them. This case still has open questions that need answers.

The focus stays on getting the facts straight in court. Justice for Dionna “Dee” Causey drives the next steps.

Peoria police locked up Maurice Graves on a first-degree murder charge tied to the shooting death of Dionna “Dee” Causey. Detectives zeroed in on the 30-year-old during their probe. The Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office then put out the warrant.

On Thursday, October 15, 2026, Peoria detectives teamed up with the U.S. Marshals Service. They found Graves inside a house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He went into custody without any trouble. After Peoria detectives questioned him, they made the arrest official.

Cops still have not said how Graves and Dee knew each other. They also have not spelled out what sparked the shooting. The case stays open.

Dee left behind five kids. Those children now face life without their mother. No arrest can hand them back the years they lost with her. Their world flipped upside down for good.

For Dee’s family, the arrest offers a start toward some answers. They want the full story to come out in court. Graves stays presumed innocent until a jury says otherwise.

Folks around here keep thinking about the life Dee built. She raised those five kids and left them with memories that stick. The pain hits hard every day for the ones who loved her most.

Rest easy, Dee. The kids will carry her with them always. Justice for Dionna “Dee” Causey stays the goal as this moves forward.